Pull+Up+the+Roots

=Pull Up the Roots= Tedd Brent, [|House of Brent Home]



Board Game Downloads
[|Pull Up the Roots]

Instructional Objective
Students will learn and reinforce common Greek and Latin Roots which make up the basis of many English words. //Pull Up the Roots// will specifically address the following California State Standards:

1.1 Identify and use the literal and figurative meanings of words and understand word derivations.
 * 9th and 10th Grade English/Language Arts Standards:**

1.1 Trace the etymology of significant terms used in political science and history. 1.2 Apply knowledge of Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon roots and affixes to draw inferences concerning the meaning of scientific and mathematical terminology.
 * 11th and 12th Grade English/Language Arts Standards:**

Learners & Context of Use
The game is designed for high school English students where the study of Greek and Latin roots is part of the learner's curriculum; the game is also useful for building and strengthening vocabulary for exams such as the SAT. Typically learning Greek and Latin roots takes the form of straightforward study and memorization, and //Pull Up the Roots// can provide everything from direct learning to reinforcement of taught concepts that need review. The game would be used in any high school English class desiring to strengthen student vocabulary. The game could be used "as is" and can be played repeatedly until students are starting to master the meanings of the Greek and Latin roots represented by the selection of cards in the game. The game is best used as a supplement to instruction already occurring in the classroom, not as a primary instruction tool.

Competing Products
While no board game seemed to combine the target grade-level and specification of Greek and Latin roots, there were several games and products that involved learning various roots, prefixes, and suffixes, and there were multiple learning aids for Greek and Latin roots.

The [|Educational Learning Games catalog] listed the following related titles: //Pursuit// Language Arts Game, where " Players learn how to build words using prefixes and base words as they move around the track toward the 'Home' space in the middle of the game board.  " The game is designed for 4th through 8th grade. //Words Galore!// Game, where "  Students expand their vocabulary by combining prefixes, common roots, and suffixes to form words horizontally or vertically. The color-coded roots and affixes help cement word-formation patterns." The game is designed for 4th grade and up.

In addition, the following sites offer related material and learning aids: [|www.quia.com] has Greek and Latin roots matching, word searches, concentration, and flashcards [|http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/latin.htm] sells "Vocabulary Vine," a system for learning word roots for 4th through 9th graders [|brightideascoaching.com/Greek%20and%20Latin%20Jeopardy.pdf]offers a Greek and Latin roots //Jeopardy//-style game

**Object of the Game**
The goal of the game is for a player to beat other players up his or her root stalk to be the first in the "light"-- entering into the growing plant above the surface.

Content Analysis
The elements of this content are listed on the Board Game Content Analysis page.

Game Materials
The materials that would be found in the box are as follows: •One game board, blown up to 22" by 34" •36 "Root" cards

•36 "Dig Deeper" cards

•One [|four-point die] •One 30-second timer •Four game pieces resembling garden implements that would tie into the "root" theme and plant pictures (optional).

Time Required
The game takes about one minute to set up and is designed to be played in a single sitting (traditional high school academic period), from twenty-five to thirty-five minutes depending on the number of players.

The Rules
Gameplay is designed for two to four players; all players start at the end of their own root stalk. 1. The first player rolls the die to see how many spaces he/she will move if the correct answer is given. 2. The next player to roll pulls a Root card for player one and reads the root, spells it, and identifies if it is Greek or Latin. 3. If player one can define the root, he/she gets to move the number of spaces on the die. 4. If player one is unable to define the root, player two reads the hint word (common word containing the root). 5. If player one can then define the root, he/she can move the value of the die minus one; there is no penalty if a one was rolled on the die. 6. If player one is still unable to define the root, any player not reading the card can earn an additional space if the root can be correctly defined. Landing on a Dig Deeper space during this move does not earn a Dig Deeper Card. 7. If player one lands on a Dig Deeper space at the end of his/her move, player two pulls a Dig Deeper card for player one and reads the root and definition listed. 8. Player one has 30 seconds to try to name the five words containing the root listed on the card, earning an extra space for each word; if player one ends on a second Dig Deeper space during this turn, he/she does not get another Dig Deeper card. 8. Game play progresses by having the second player role the die and having a Root card read by the player next in line to roll. 9. The winner is the first player to climb the entire length of his or her root and emerge into the light above ground, symbolizing their vocabulary "enlightenment."
 * Variation: If remaining players besides the reader can name any words on the Dig Deeper card the initial player did not name, they can move back the player as many words as they can identify.

Motivational Issues
When examined in the context of Keller and Suzuki's ARCS model, //Pull Up the Roots// has many strong motivational elements. In terms of **Attention**, the design and graphics of the board are straightforward, elegant, and interesting. It is simple to set up as it only has two decks of cards and one die, and the unique game pieces will be of note. The rules are simple so that game play can begin almost immediately, helping to sustain attention as players transition into playing the game. As //Pull Up the Roots// is an educational game, **Relevance** in an inherent part of the game but can also be bolstered by instructional content of an English course. Teachers using //Pull Up the Roots// as a review of Greek and Latin roots taught in class will have students engaged in the game-- relevance and motivation can be increased via credit for playing the game and subsequent testing. **Confidence** will be augmented by student preparation-- learners who have studied Greek and Latin roots as assigned in class will initially have greater prospects for success, but even unprepared students, with continued game play, will acquire necessary knowledge and skills to strengthen confidence to achieve an expectancy of success. **Satisfaction** seems also dependent upon the disparity or similarity between players. An unprepared, unstudied student in competition with a knowledgeable, well-versed peer will have little satisfaction, and while initial gratification may be achieved by a prepared student over a lesser opponent, such a match will soon seem banal. Satisfaction will best be achieved when students with matched abilities and knowledge are pitted in competition with one another.

Csikszentmihalyi's **"Concept of Flow"** seems most connected to the homogeneousness of players in competition. Flow is difficult to achieve when one player is anxious due to his or her own lack of knowledge, especially in the face of an opponent or opponents who are prepared; similarly, flow will not be achieved by competent players who are frustrated or bored because of a student that does not have the prior learning necessary to play the game well. However, when competent students are engaged in a game with each other, the competitive aspects of gaming can emerge as attention can be focused on progressing through the game and achieving a win.

Lastly, several elements of motivation from Malone and Lepper's "Making Learning Fun" also are relevant when discussing //Pull Up the Roots//. The game provides a **Challenge**, both in the acquiring of knowledge and the fixed goal of winning. The game has at least two levels of difficulty provided by the cards and the random elements of both the die and Dig Deeper cards. Whether or not the player progresses on each turn provides feedback on knowledge acquisition, thereby endowing the game with instrumental relevance. **Control** feeds directly into game play, in that success is **contingent** upon the player's responses. Additionally, some variations of game play allow for **power** to become a factor as it becomes possible to force an opponent to backtrack on the game board. As //Pull Up the Roots// is a race game, there is inherent **Competition** as players are pitted against each other and only one can win, which, when achieved, provides **Recognition** for the victor.

Design Process
//Describe the process you went through in putting the game together. What were your first thoughts?// The process that led to the decision to build a game on vocabulary review came from the first-hand experience of teaching vocabulary in my English classes in high school. Richness in vocabulary is essential in developing depth of thought and sophistication in student writing, yet building student vocabulary is often an arduous and mundane exercise many students resist. What I have noticed as my students have progressed through vocabulary units was that a great majority finished and even enjoyed the crossword puzzle I gave them for review before testing. As a crossword puzzle is a solitary game, the idea of developing a group vocabulary review in the form of a game was an intriguing way of motivating students to spend time studying vocabulary//.// Several parameters defined the development of the game. First, game play needed to be confined to one period-- about 25- 35 minutes total in a traditional schedule. With 30- 40 students in a class and four to five periods participating, longer, more complex games cannot be carried from one day to the next; therefore, the game's structure must be simple and straightforward enough to have resolution within the given time. Secondly, the standards/curriculum goals must be validated by the game's content; considering the time limitations for game play, the focus and range of the game's content must be precise and limited to best encapsulate the standards. Thirdly, the range of student level and ability must be considered when deciding what material and elements to include in the game and determining the game's complexity and instructions. As the materials in the game would best aid students taking the SAT and similar tests, the most likely audience for "Pull Up the Roots" would be 10th through 12th graders at a College Prep level or above.

//How did you enhance your ideas? What ideas did you consider and reject (and why?).// Due to the expansive nature of the English language, there was an immediate need to limit the range of words that would be employed in the creation of the game. Certain groups of words were natural candidates, such as typical SAT word lists; however, even this category was unwieldy. Clearly, regardless of the word group that would become the focus of the game, only a cross-section of potential vocabulary would be utilized. Greek and Latin roots were finally decided upon due to their pervasive nature within the English language, but that Greek and Latin roots are the key to understanding and decoding such a great number of more complex words.

//How did you gather background information? What did you do to see if there are similar games out there?// The first step for background information was to visit the education game websites provided by Dr. Dodge to ensure that //Pull Up the Roots// was not a redundant endeavor. Beyond that, several Google searches were conducted to determine what study aids and games were already developed, the results of which are listed in the "Competing Products" portion of this report. Lastly, several websites were explored to cull the Greek and Latin roots and words that would be used on the cards for the board games; roots with more than five well-known words were used for the Dig Deeper cards while roots with only two to three well-know words were used for Root cards.

//What did you do to get feedback on the idea? How did you flesh out the game to the point of having a playable prototype? How did you gather feedback from that?// Pre-design: Positive feedback was attained from students and colleagues on the practicality and usefulness of a review game of this nature. The research process to create a practical list of Greek and Latin root words, their definitions, and common words that stem from each root was time consuming but necessary in order amass the material necessary to create substantial game play. Colleagues and personal expertise were employed to determine the most germane root words to include and to hone the word lists for the Dig Deeper cards so that there was a range of familiar to exotic words for each root word. Post-creation: Two test groups were used to play and evaluate the game, one with my spouse and a friend and the other a group of students, mostly upper classmen. In terms of game play, the rules were clear enough to begin to play quickly with only one or two references back for clarification. The adults had the advantage of experience and were better able to make educated guesses at root meanings, and while the students performed adequately, their game play made it clear that //Pull Up the Roots// is __best used as a curriculum supplement when students are studying Greek and Latin roots__. It was noticed that both groups often forgot to mention the language of origin included on the cards, probably because the information did not have bearing on game play; however, several issues did not make this practical for the game. For one, there has a disproportionate number of words of Latin origin compared to Greek; students realizing this would more than likely resort to guessing Latin as the odds were in favor of this answer. Secondly, there is no support in the standards that places importance on knowing the origin of the roots, and third, there is little real-life application for knowing this information. It was decided to leave the information on the cards for the simple erudition of those students who simply make a note of it. In terms of game design, the board was attractive and professional, but two factors became clear playing the game. For one, having done an initial printing on 11" by 17" paper, the squares were too small for ease of play; the game board would need to be twice as big for better play; I also went back into Photoshop and enlarged the squares. Secondly, it became obvious that more Dig Deeper spaces were needed. Most player only guessed two to three words on the Dig Deeper cards, so the game progressed more slowly, and by the end of the game most of the Root cards were used and a majority of the Dig Deeper cards were untouched. Adding more Dig Deeper spaces would not unfairly advantage anyone as only one or two spaces were usually earned per Dig Deeper card.

//What lessons did you learn from this that you'll carry to your next game design project?// Research and careful selection are necessary to create a balanced and challenging game. It is necessary to endeavor to include elements that help to prevent boredom but to also have components that serve to reduce anxiety where the learner may struggle, which is why I included hints on the Root cards and some familiar words on the Dig Deeper cards.